Christianity in Singapore

Singaporean Christians
A biblical verse inscribed on a stained glass window above the main entrance of Elim Church Singapore.
Total population
654,355 (2020 census)
(19% of resident population) [1][2]
Religions
Scriptures
Bible
Languages
Burmese · English · Filipino · Indonesian · Japanese · Korean · Mandarin · Tamil · Thai

Christians in Singapore constitute 19% of the country's resident population, as of the most recent census conducted in 2020.[3] Christianity is the second largest religion in the country, after Buddhism and before Islam. In 2020, about 37.1% of the country's Christians identified as Catholic with 62.9% labeled as 'Other Christians', most of which identify as Protestant, with some identifying as Orthodox or other minority Christian denominations.[4]

Christianity was first introduced to Singapore by Anglicans, who were among the first British settlers to arrive shortly after the founding of a British colony by Stamford Raffles. The proportion of Christians among Singaporeans has increased in the last few decades: 9.9% in 1980; 12.7% in 1990; 14.6% in 2000 and 18.9% in 2020.[5][6] Christianity has flourished in present-day Singapore, and a growing number of Singaporeans are converting to the faith or were born into Christian families.[7][8][9]

The majority of Christian churches are under the umbrella of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS).[10] Most belong to Protestant traditions which consist of an array of denominations. Another major umbrella group is the Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches Singapore (APCCS), a network of local churches, Christian organisations and pastors from largely independent charismatic churches and the Assemblies of God denomination.[11]

  1. ^ "Census of Population (2020): Statistical Release 1: Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion" (PDF). singstat.gov.sg. Singapore Department of Statistics. 2020. pp. 200–206. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Religion" (Microsoft Excel). singstat.gov.sg. Singapore Department of Statistics. 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Census of Population 2020: Religion" (PDF). Department of Statistics Singapore. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  4. ^ Singapore Census of Population 2015: Statistical Release 1: Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion. Singapore: Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore. January 2011. Table 59 ("Resident Population Aged 15 Years and Over by Religion, Ethnic Group and Sex"). ISBN 978-981-08-7808-5.
  5. ^ Sng, Bobby E.K. (2003). In His Good Time: The Story of the Church in Singapore 1819–2002 (3rd ed.). Singapore: Bible Society of Singapore. p. 337. ISBN 981-220-286-2.
  6. ^ "Better-educated S'pore residents look to religion". 13 January 2011. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  7. ^ Goh, Daniel P. S. (21 April 2010). "State and Social Christianity in Post-colonial Singapore". Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia. 25 (1). Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia: 54–89. doi:10.1355/SJ25-1C. JSTOR 41308136. S2CID 144235936. Christianity has flourished in post-colonial Singapore, especially attracting conversions from among young, urbanized and English- educated.
  8. ^ S. Chin, Clive (2017). The Perception of Christianity as a Rational Religion in Singapore: A Missiological Analysis of Christian Conversione. Routledge. p. 166. ISBN 9781498298094. This socio-demographic characterizes Christian converts as mostly .. (2) well-educated, (3) belonging in higher-income brackets, (4) switching their religion between ten and twenty-nine years of age
  9. ^ "Religious Revival Among Chinese in Singapore" (PDF). SSA1201 Assignment. 14 May 2018. Converts to Christianity tend to come from the young, educated, English-speaking Chinese generation
  10. ^ "National Council of Churches Singapore Website". Archived from the original on 25 April 2011.
  11. ^ "Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches Singapore Website". Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches Singapore. Retrieved 13 June 2022.